So how can a nation, proudly steeped in religion and religious freedom with a sometimes overbearing degree of piety, conservatism and moralism boldly justify publicly cheering and waving American flags and popping bottles of champagne over the death of another human being?
Yes, Osama Bin Laden was indeed the mastermind behind the horrible deaths of nearly 3,000 people via the 9/11 attacks and was founder of the militant terrorist network, Al-Qaeda. And who really knows just how many other attacks and thousands of other deaths were additionally executed through Bin Laden's evil machinations. But does eliminating Bin Laden from our planet, and celebrating this lethal act of aggression as if America had just won the World Cup really the best form and fashion of our political and spiritual sensibilities?
Well if your answer is yes, based upon the heinous crimes against nature Bin Laden has committed, then you and this great nation have some serious soul searching to do. Being emotionally relieved that Bin Laden can no longer commit his reign of terror against America and the world is one thing, but gloating that someone else's son, father and simply another human being is no longer able to take a breath and enjoy the fruits of life is a bit much.
America, built upon the broad shoulders of patriotism should exercise better judgment and restraint in the coming days, weeks and even years concerning the death of Osama Bin Laden. There's always the risk of retaliation as well as individuals seeking to become the next Bin Laden. But revenge attacks should be the least of our worries.
Instead how you as a parent can justify celebratory behavior to your children and how you as a person-of-faith can reconcile happiness in the death of another human being are far bigger problems you must deal with.
Spiritually and ethically speaking, America is being tested. And you as its citizen should be very concerned about how well you will pass this test. It is an extreme unfortunate situation that in the process of defending our great nation we must sometimes resort to violence in the harm or death of others both innocent and guilty. In the case of Bin Laden, his death brings us a much needed closure to a very ugly chapter in American and world history.
But does his death really bring us closer to God, to our children, and to each others? Or does our mutual hatred of one man, give us a shared reason to be less afraid, more justified and even downright smug that we finally were able to extract our pound of flesh nearly a decade later? This is a question we must individually ask and answer as we grapple to makes sense of this rapidly evolving world.